Water in England By Dorothy Hartley

Drinking water in england

Published in 1964 this absorbing and brilliantly researched book compels the reader to focus intensely as the writer does on every aspect of water s presence in our lives Taken for granted now indoor plumbing for almost all was a twentieth century development Born in 1893 the author had first hand experience of houses without indoor sanitation describing the indoor earth closets still in use in the early twentieth century including those at Newnham College Cambridge For personal hygiene cooking and laundry using the right kind of water was essential and even when piped water was available hoteliers continued to supply rainwater for hair washing Before piped supplies managed by local authorities then regional companies protecting that water from pollutants was a householder s responsibility Dorothy Hartley celebrates too the role of water in leisure including for pilgrims the pre Reformation cruise ships operated by the Knights Templar and Hospitallers As she says the word pilgrim was elastic 9780354040488